HOT FLASHES affect up to 80 percent of women during menopause. While prescription treatments can reduce the frequency and severity of these heat waves, there are also things you can do without drugs to reduce their intensity.

1. Chill your wrists. You probably know to keep the bedroom temperature cool and to have a small fan on your desk at work. But cooling wristbands can be another helpful tool. When you feel a hot flash coming on, try placing wrapped ice packs on your wrists, or even on your armpits and neck, where blood vessels are close to the skin surface, to provide some relief.

2. Think cool thoughts. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help women learn how thoughts, feelings and behavior affect the experience of hot flashes. Think about “being cool, calm, being at a beach or going into cold water,” says Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, at the University of Virginia. It can take four to six weeks of CBT with a clinician, an app or even a self-help book to experience relief. Ask your doctor for recommendations.

3. Try self-hypnosis. In hypnosis, a person is guided to focus their attention and receives suggestions for relaxation and cooling imagery to help manage hot flashes. Like CBT, the techniques can be learned from a therapist or on your own. —Rachel Somerstein